...Tiffany Coulam December 11, 2014 Business Ethics Professor Kitanov Market Economy vs. Market Society Market is defined as an area or an arena in which commercial dealings are conducted and is from the Latin mercatus which means ‘buy.’ This is absolutely appropriate for the environment where economic transactions take place. But is this same arena appropriate for the facets of life that have traditionally been governed by more spiritual and moral beliefs? Many intellectuals have posed the question, “Should everything in this world be up for sale?” In the book, What Money Can’t Buy, Michael J. Sandel states that we have morphed from a market economy into a market society. He argues that the market has entered into areas that moral law should reside over and there are, or should be, ‘moral limits’ to markets. In the wake of the worst economic crisis since The Great Depression, it is time to rethink the notion that markets values are the end all and be all of our society. Americans tend to believe that the market’s invisible hand is the greatest caretaker, the best in producing the greatest good for the greatest number of people. The recent financial crisis could not even shake this mentality. The people “discredited the government more than the banks” (Sandel 12). For decades, industrialism and market triumphalism have prevailed over this nation. There are strong arguments for the capitalist markets and their benefits. The finer things in life such as, leisure time...
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...this array of options was not always the case. The world we know of today has transitioned into a market economy. Polayni’s definition of market economy is “a self-regulating system of markets. It is an economy directed by market prices” (Polayni, 43). To elaborate, this means every product is controlled by supply and demand, and the price is not determined by the government. Differing from today, in the past the world was based on reciprocity and redistribution, which in retrospect is gift giving, either to a one person or a larger group. Everyone relied on reciprocity in order to live. The transition to market economy was a drastic one, which furthermore changed the world today. In this essay, I will go into the work of Karl Polayni, James Rinehart and Richard Bendix, who summarized the works of Max Weber, who all discussed the transformation to market economy and how it affected our society. Karl Polanyi describes the market society as “the great transformation” in today’s economy. He believes it was significant because it changed the way the economy would work and provided maximum profit and stability for families and different societies. Before market economy, societies relied mostly on reciprocity and redistribution for trade and services. Redistribution can be defined as the distribution of goods to a central means, which is then distributed again to society. Reciprocity then means exchanging items or goods, rather than offering monetary value. Reciprocity...
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... The Great Transformation to Market Society We are living in market society, which is so different from previous societies. In market society, the whole of society is a system of self-regulating market (Polanyi 43). In order to make the market society function, people need to think and act in certain ways(Polanyi 68). For example, people in market society think that economic relations are much more important than interpersonal relations (Polanyi 44). Polanyi calls the emergence of market society “the great transformation”. My thesis statement is that the shift to market society is a fundamental transformation because market society is characterized by self-regulation, fictitious commodities, and an emphasis on individuals, which are significantly distinct from previous societies. Some of the changes that take place in workplace under the system of market society will also be presented. Moreover, the ideas that people have about the world in market society will be describing by pointing out the relationship between the “protestant work ethic” and the “spirit of capitalism”. Finally, the reasons why these ideological conditions are crucial to the emergence of market society will be provided. The first characteristic of market society that makes the shift to market society essential is that economy within it is self-regulating and it is called “market economy” (Polanyi 68). Self-regulation indicates that the system of market is able to organize ...
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...Shift Between Traditional and Modern Society From the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century till the present day, the shift between tradition and modernity has developed incredibly. The relationship between traditional and modern society, also known as ‘Mass society,’ is distinguished between the past and present, along with continuity and change. The establishment of different inventions and customs from traditional society have been handed down from generations to generations, which help shape modern society. However, one may wonder, what are the main features from traditional society that have made a dramatic impact for life today? Also, is one more sympathetic to one society, than the other? Traditional and modern families have several differences in terms of family honour, gender roles in the labour force and marriage, along with the role of government on legitimate killings and the food markets. Furthermore, technology from the industrial revolution, such as, the automobile, coal mines, and steam engines also played a great role. Thus, through the many different concepts, the role of family, government and technology, one can see that modern society is better developed and more individualistic than traditional society. FAMILY In traditional society, the honour of one’s family is based on the behaviour of the family as a whole. An individual who does something wrong, can affect not only their own honour, but also the honour of the entire family. This results in a...
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...Chapter 1: What is CSR Organizations can be classified in 3 categories: 1) For profits: Seek gain for their owners 2) Government: Exists to define rules and structures of society within which all organizations must operate 3) Non-profits: Emerge to do social good when the political will of the profit motive is insufficient to address societies needs Stakeholders: Includes all those who are related in some way to a firm “A stakeholder in an organization is any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organizations objectives” could range from clearly defined customers, employees, suppliers, creditors, and regulating authorities, to other more amorphous constituents such as local communities CSR is both critical and controversial; It is critical because the for-profit sector is the largest and most innovative part of any free societies economy. However CSR remains controversial; In spite of the rising importance of CSR today for corporate leaders, academics, and bureaucrats alike, many still draw on the views of the Nobel Prize- winning economist Milton Friedman, who argues against CSR because it distracted leaders from economic goals. Friedman believed that the only “social responsibility of a business is to increase its profits”- that society benefits most when businesses focus on maximizing their financial success. David Packard, a co-founder of Hewlett-Packard however, believes “a group of people get together and exist as...
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...costs of communication because of the technological advances and an increased competition in the technological sector that has in turn reduced the cost of communication. Moore’s states that the production of microchips is on the double rise every one and half a years. In the current society, innovations made in the technological industry are bringing about a wide range and the policy makers are really working on the ways of resolving the effects to do with economic productivity (Berque, Prey, Reed & WIPTE, 2006). Technology can there can there be seen as a discrete force with a great influence and the impacts of technology is a metaphor It is there seen as a dynamic force that causes collisions and impacts on the society. Mechanically, technology can be viewed as to be having an impact on the society as it reinforces that technological systems have an independent existence and appears to be having a mass, velocity and a momentum of its own, which drives technology to influence on the society (Karacapilidis, & Raisinghani, 2012). Thesis Statement The focus of this study is to establish and interpret the principles of technology and the effects of the technological advancements on the society socially, economically, and politically. The study will take a course of an extensive consultation and seeking data through questionnaires and face-to-face interviews with the respondents. In an attempt to extract a reliable data, the study will use direct interviews more often to...
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...• Global market activities take place within the political environment of governmental institutions, political parties, and organization through which a country’s people and rulers exercise power • Each nation has a unique culture that reflects its society • Each nation also has a political culture that reflects the relative importance of the government and legal system and provides a context within which individuals and corporations understand their relationship to the political system • Any company doing business outside its home country should carefully study the political culture in the target country and analyze salient issues arising from the political environment • These include the governing party’s attitude toward sovereignty, political risk, taxes, the threat of equity dilution and expropriation Nation-States and Sovereignty • Sovereignty can be defined as supreme and independent political authority • ”Culture” can provide us with many answers on how and why people behave differently around the globe. One explanation it surely provides is that people have very different views on "what is a good boss", or on ”how teams should be led”. • A major challenge in developing intercultural management competence is the fact that there is no "one way" to lead. This is especially relevant as all "new" and growing markets have something in common, they can be characterised as hierarchical cultures. Many companies need to face the fact that the leadership styles/guidelines...
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...The peoples of the dominant human societies lost their sense of attachment to the living earth, and societies became divided between the rulers and the ruled, exploiters and exploited. The brutal competition for power created a relentless play-or-die, rule-or-be-ruled dynamic of violence and oppression and served to elevate the most ruthless to the highest positions of power. Since the fateful turn, the major portion of the resources available to human societies has been diverted from meeting the needs of life to supporting the military forces, prisons, palaces, temples, and patronage for retainers and propagandists on which the system of domination in turn depends. Great civilizations built by ambitious rulers fell to successive waves of corruption and conquest. The primary institutional form of Empire has morphed from the city-state to the nation-state to the global corporation, but the underlying pattern of domination remains. It is axiomatic: for a few to be on top, many must be on the bottom. The powerful control and institutionalize the processes by which it will be decided who enjoys the privilege and who pays the price, a choice that commonly results in arbitrarily excluding from power whole groups of persons based on race and gender. Herein lies a crucial insight. If we look for the source of the social pathologies increasingly evident in our culture, we find they have a common origin in the dominator relations of Empire that have survived largely intact in spite...
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...Introduction In the knowledge society, firms need to develop competitive advantages based on an adequate and intensive use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), which is an essential element of success in today’s market. This fact is especially relevant for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), whose survival depends, among other factors, on the use they make of ICTs to develop new organizational models, compete in new markets or enhance their internal and external communication relationships. To be successful in the 21st century, any country in the world needs to develop an ideas-based can do economy and society. This implies an economy and society that are proficient at both creating ideas and translating a considerable proportion of them into new business opportunities. The payoffs are jobs, wealth and a better quality of life. In this scenario, many developed countries have already concluded that their future relies on increasing investment in the underlying capability of the knowledge economy and creating an environment favourable to the rapid translation of new ideas into new business opportunities. In particular, small and medium sized companies (SMEs) will be able to seize this opportunity in a wide variety of ways and small entrepreneurs have a critical role to play. Therefore, it is important that small entrepreneurs take into account that the world in which organizations exist and operate is continuously changing. Changes in interdependencies...
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...every 18 months. In a society constantly striving to become bigger and more profitable, a new era of advanced technologies has been adopted to perpetuate itself ahead of the global race for expansion. However, the mass development of new innovations in technology has not gone without a noticeable impact across all domains of society. As the transition into the future rapidly ensues, social and economical impacts have become more and more prevalent. One question to be considered in the race to improve and expand the nation is whether or not there is an equal amount of attention and emphasis being put on preserving our social values versus the importance put on pursuing economical gain. Many argue that the introduction of technology into modern society has brought about a world of positive change through which has offered immense advancements in global connectivity, efficiency, and quality of life. While the majority of new technologies are individually worthy of being considered great accomplishments throughout the technological world, they have collaboratively worked together to create an abundance of distractions throughout school and the work place as well as contribute to diminishing traditional values and overall quality of life, leading society to suffer lasting consequences as a result. In this paper, I aim to expose the underlying dangers posed by the ever-expanding presence of new technologies, as well as bring light to the negative impacts society, and its values as a...
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...68: Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity – Ulrich Beck Definition: Risk Society – a society increasingly preoccupied with the future, which generates the notion of risk. Globalizing the risks of civilization - The risks of civilization can be described in a formula: poverty is hierarchic, smog is democratic. - With the expansion of modernization risks, besides problems with endangering nature, health and food supply, social differences and limits are relativized. - Risk societies are not exactly class societies because their “risk positions” are classless. - Problems with globalization: o Food chains connect everyone on earth o Acid content of the air is destroying art sculptures o Modern geographical borders and barriers are being destroyed because of acid content of the air, i.e. Canadian lakes and Scandinavia Rationalization and Relativism - When everything turns into a hazard, nothing seems dangerous anymore. - “Ignorance is bliss.” - Risk society switches from hysteria to indifference. Boomerang Effect - Eventually risks and hazards catch up with those who create and profit from creating the risks and hazards. (Karma) Ecological devaluation and expropriation - Boomerang effect also affects media, money, property and legitimation. - The destruction and endangering of nature and the environment have devaluation in property rights. - “Everything which threatens life on this earth also threatens the property and commercial interests of those...
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...Religion, renewal and choice Religion, renewal and choice Modernity | Is seen as beginning with the industrial revolution. It is characterised by rapid social change, scientific and technological development and secularisation. Beck and Giddens argue that late modernity will accelerate, especially as a result of globalisation. | Post modernity | The view that society has moved into a new era of postmodernity- a globalised, media-saturated society. Culture is fragmented, unstable and ever changing, and individuals create and change their identities through consumption of signs and brands. Some Marxists see PM as the latest phase of capitalism, in which globalisation permit the accumulation of capital. | Individualism | The idea that the individual is more important than the group. In postmodern society, individualism becomes more important becomes more important than it is in traditional society and individuals actions are influenced more by self-interest rather than obligation. Secularisation theorists argue that this leads to decline in religion by undermining its communal basis. | Vicarious religion | Is experiencing religion ‘second hand’ or at a distance. Attending churches for rites of passage but not on a regular basis. A small number of professional clergy practise religion on behalf of a much larger number of people | Cultural amnesia | Loss of collective memory, where religion is no longer being handed down through generations as members of family are more...
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...In my opinion, of the classical sociologists, Emile Durkheim stands out as the most relevant to modern sociology. I believe that his first-hand exposure to societies shift into an industrial nature, although temporally brief, allowed him to a more comprehensive view of how sociology would impact the future. In addition, Durkheim through his writing sought to encompass the large picture of society through the concept of structural functionalism. By analyzing social morality Durkheim attempted to bring a greater understanding to how our day to day interactions were knitted into the social fabric. The rules of how we should and should not behave, have a clear bearing on our interactions with others as well as the development of others perceptions....
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...the proposed lease of the IPads to the incoming freshman class. I wish to state firmly that I approve of leasing IPads for the incoming freshman, and would like you to approve the idea. There are several reasons why I think this is an innovative idea for the new students coming in to the high school next year. The most important reason is that it would even the playing field for the new freshman class, making all students equal in regards to technology and access to the technology, many students do not access to this type of technology at home. It would enable students to complete assignments at home, rather than spend extra time at school. It would also allow students familiarity with the latest technology in an increasing technological society. To begin with many parents of the incoming freshman class are struggling to make ends meet during these difficult economic times. Many students have limited access to technology because parents simply cannot afford to buy the latest technology such as IPads. This puts these students at a disadvantage with classmates whose parents are better able to afford them the latest technology. I believe that leasing IPads to all students starting with the freshman class would help ensure that all students have an equal chance at success. Leasing IPads for the incoming freshman class would be one step on the path to student success. If all students have access to technology at home, the students without technology would no longer have to come to...
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...the job market and leading to wide-spread job-loss and poverty. Secondly, the use of algorithms to promote political content on social media may have contributed to unexpected outcomes in democratic elections. The past decade has seen the rapid development of technology in all spheres of public and private activity, mainly with significant benefits to society. Notably, the Internet, mobile technology and social networks have facilitated the development of new business and communication models that have enabled global access to services and resources that previously were inaccessible. While we cannot deny the benefits, there is growing discontent, much like during the...
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